This Bengaluru housing complex gets groceries via drones in under 10 minutes. Check details

Mint

02-05-2025

In a first-of-its-kind initiative in South Bengaluru, residents of Prestige Falcon City are now receiving groceries, medicines, and other daily essentials through drone deliveries, thanks to a partnership between BigBasket and Skye Air Mobility, a drone logistics firm.
According to a report by the Hindustan Times, the service has been introduced to enhance delivery speed, improve operational efficiency, and reduce traffic congestion within the gated community.
The drone service delivers goods in five to ten minutes, with operations running daily from 7 am to 8 pm. The cost to the customer remains unchanged.
'The delivery model involves a BigBasket storage facility within 5 km of the apartment complex. All orders for the community are routed through this facility. The drones, operated by Skye Air, have received DGCA approval, and the entire system is integrated for real-time tracking of drone movements,' said Avinash HV, Bengaluru Apartment Federation South President and a member of the Prestige Falcon City Resident Welfare Association, in a statement to HT.
The drones are satellite-connected and fly along designated 3D-mapped corridors, with coordination from agencies such as Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) and the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA). They are camera-free, making them neighbourhood-friendly.
Deliveries are limited to packages weighing under 7 kilogrammes. A dedicated staff member stationed within Prestige Falcon City receives the drone packages and facilitates smooth handovers to residents. The system can batch multiple orders or send them individually, depending on demand.
Residents have noted a visible reduction in internal congestion since the drones replaced frequent trips by multiple delivery agents. The environmental benefit is another highlight: drone deliveries reduce the travel radius and help lower carbon emissions, especially in traffic-heavy areas where aerial distances are nearly half of road routes.
Ankit Kumar, founder and CEO of Skye Air Mobility, said, 'We are currently handling 40–50 orders daily, and in quick commerce, speed is everything. Our batching system boosts efficiency.'
Kumar said Skye Air plans to expand its services to 20 more housing societies across Bengaluru within the next three months, targeting areas like Jayanagar, Bannerghatta Road, and Electronic City. To support the expansion, the company is working on establishing a dedicated Skye Pod Network—infrastructure designed to enable residential complexes to receive drone deliveries directly.
Currently, Skye Air operates with two drones, but the firm aims to scale up to 25–30 drones to meet projected demand.
'A delivery rider typically manages 30 deliveries per day, earning about ₹ 800, while a drone can deliver 60 orders daily, effectively doubling efficiency,' Kumar said.
The company also plans to extend the delivery radius of its dark stores from 1.8 km to 5 km, reducing the need to build additional facilities and saving both capital and operational expenditure.
Despite its success at Falcon City, Kumar acknowledged the regulatory and enforcement hurdles. 'While we get airspace approvals from civil aviation authorities, one of the biggest challenges is dealing with ground-level enforcement, like informing local police under Drone Rules 2021. Navigating these local complexities is a crucial part of scaling,' he said.
Real estate experts, however, remain cautiously optimistic. According to Gulam Zia, Senior Executive Director at Knight Frank India, 'Regulatory clarity from both central and state authorities is crucial, as the use of drones in public zones currently lacks a comprehensive policy framework. Infrastructure, safety, and airspace coordination remain key concerns. Some gated communities may adopt drones in pilot phases, but at present, this remains experimental.'
He further stated, 'From a real estate perspective, its impact is minimal in the immediate term. Meaningful integration can only emerge once policies, infrastructure, and operational models are clearly established.'
Kumar emphasized that drone delivery will not entirely replace traditional quick commerce logistics. Instead, it is poised to complement existing systems, especially as automation and sustainability continue to influence future urban infrastructure.
'The aerial distance is nearly half of road routes, especially in traffic-heavy areas. We are looking to expand the delivery radius of dark stores from 1.8 km to 5 km in future, reducing the need for more dark store infrastructure and saving both capex and opex,' he said.
First Published: 2 May 2025, 08:09 PM IST